Palatiello Testifies Before House Small Business Committee on Procurement Methods

Reston, VA, March 6, 2008  John M. Palatiello, Administrator of the Council on FederalProcurement of Architectural and Engineering Services (COFPAES) testified before the House of Representatives, Committee of Small Business, in a hearing on “Are New Procurement Methods Beneficial to Small Business Contracts?” today, Thursday, March 6, 2008.

Palatiello provided the committee with an overview of the challenges the architecture, engineering, surveying and mapping community, and small firms in particular face in Federal contracting, including agency compliance with the qualifications based selection process, design-build contracting, the depleting Federal A/E acquisition workforce, adequate competitive opportunities for small business and firms that are not small business, a lack of data collection on small business subcontracting activity, retainage on Federal contracts, and GSA schedule contracts.

Palatiello warned, “Without Congress acting, we have seen an erosion of the time-tested qualifications based selection process. New procurement methods are being implemented that are not beneficial to small business or the A/E profession in general. Nor are they beneficial to the taxpaying public, or to public health, welfare and safety. We urge Congress to work to re-establish the time-tested and proven QBS process in Federal procurement of A/E services.”

COFPAES was formed in the 1960s to serve as the unified voice of the architectural, engineering and related (A/E) services profession on issues related to Federal contracting. Our member organizations are the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM), American Institute of Architects (AIA), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS) and National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). Throughout its history, COFPAES has focused on ensuring quality and competence in procuring professional A/E services. COFPAES serves the American public by assisting Congress and Federal agencies in ensuring that projects to satisfy the building, infrastructure, resource, defense, and security needs of our Nation are conducted in an efficient and quality manner.